Brad Hoylman 's Blog

Calling for Municipal Control of Minimum Wage

Yesterday, I joined Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and the statewide Raise Up Coalition in advocating for legislation to allow municipalities to set their own local minimum wage rates above the current state floor of $8 an hour. At a time when the number of low-wage jobs in our state is increasing, allowing municipalities to enact higher minimum wages to better align with local living costs could greatly improve the lives of millions of low income workers. Giving local governments direct control over their minimum wages is a great first step toward reducing income inequality in our state.